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[Display omitted] • A green and scalable emulsion spray-coating technique is developed to prepare foam composites. • The foam composite possesses exterior superhydrophobicity and interior hydrophilicity. • ACNTs are decorated onto the skeleton of the foam with strong interfacial adhesion. • The foam composite possesses excellent corrosion resistance and durability. • Photothermally induced crude oil cleanup with a high efficiency is achieved. Chemical spills, especially oil spills, are becoming an increasingly serious environmental issue. It remains a challenge to develop green techniques to prepare mechanically robust oil–water separation materials, especially those capable of separating high-viscosity crude oils. Herein, we propose an environmentally friendly emulsion spray-coating method to fabricate durable foam composites with asymmetric wettability for oil–water separation. After the emulsion, composed of acidified carbon nanotubes (ACNTs), polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and its curing agent, is sprayed onto melamine foam (MF), water in the emulsion is first evaporated, while PDMS and ACNTs are finally deposited on the foam skeleton. The foam composite exhibits gradient wettability and turns from superhydrophobicity of the top surface (the water contact angle reaches as high as 155.2°) to hydrophilicity of the interior region. The foam composite can be used for the separation of oils with different densities and has a 97% separation efficiency for chloroform. In particular, the photothermal conversion-induced temperature rise can reduce the oil viscosity and complete the high-efficiency cleanup of crude oil. This emulsion spray-coating technique and asymmetric wettability show promise for the green and low-cost fabrication of high-performance oil/water separation materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] Solar-based interface evaporation (SIE) is a green, efficient and cost-effective technique to harvest fresh water. 3D solar evaporators show their unique advantages in gaining energy from environment and hence possess a higher evaporation rate than 2D evaporators. However, much effort is still required to develop mechanically robust and superhydrophilic 3D evaporators with strong water transportation capability and salt-rejection performance, and at the same time reveal how they gain energy from environment via the natural evaporation. In this work, a novel carbon nanofiber reinforced carbon aerogel (CNFA) is prepared for the SIE. The CNFA has a high light absorption up to 97.2% and outstanding photothermal conversion performance. The heteroatom doping and hierarchically porous structure endow the CNFA with superhydrophilicity and thus powerful water transportation capability and salt rejection performance. Benefiting from synergy of the SIE and side wall induced natural evaporation, the CNFA evaporator exhibits a high evaporation rate and efficiency (as high as 3.82 kg m-2h−1 and 95.5%, respectively) with long-term stability and durability. The CNFA can also work normally in high-salinity and corrosive seawater. This study demonstrates a new method to fabricate all-carbon aerogel solar evaporators and provides insights for the effective thermal management during the interface evaporation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] The one-way transportation of liquids plays an important role in smart and wearable electronics. Here, we report an asymmetric nanofibrous membrane (ANM) with unidirectional water transport (UWT) capability by integrating one superhydrophilic MXene/Chitosan/Polyurethane (PU) nanofiber membrane (MCPNM) and one ultrathin hydrophobic PU/Polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) layer with a "bead-on-string" structure. The UWT performance shows long-term stability and can be well maintained during the cyclic stretching, abrasion and ultrasonic washing tests. The ANM exhibits negative temperature coefficient and is served as a temperature sensor to monitor the temperature variation of the environment, which can provide efficient alarm signals in a hot or cold condition. When attached on person's skin, the ANM displays a unique anti-gravity UWT behavior. The stretchable, wearable and multi-functional nanofibrous composite membrane with an asymmetric wettability shows potential applications in flexible and wearable electronics, health monitoring, etc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • A hydrophobic macro/ meso porous carbon nanofiber (HPCNF) membrane is prepared. • The HPCNF exhibits a high sunlight absorption and a large contact angle. • A high interfacial solar evaporation rate is achieved. • The HPCNF has excellent salt-rejection and hence long-term evaporation stability. • Solar desalination can be conducted in high salinity and corrosive conditions. Interfacial evaporation has recently received great interest from both academia and industry to harvest fresh water from seawater, due to its low cost, sustainability and high efficiency. However, state-of-the-art solar absorbers usually face several issues such as weak corrosion resistance, salt accumulation and hence poor long-term evaporation stability. Herein, a hydrophobic and porous carbon nanofiber (HPCNF) is prepared by combination of the porogen sublimation and fluorination. The HPCNF possessing a macro/ meso porous structure exhibits large contact angles (as high as 145°), strong light absorption and outstanding photo-thermal conversion performance. When the HPCNF is used as the solar absorber, the evaporation rate and efficiency can reach up to 1.43 kg m−2h−1 and 87.5% under one sunlight irradiation, respectively. More importantly, the outstanding water proof endows the absorber with superior corrosion resistance and salt rejection performance, and hence the interfacial evaporation can maintain a long-term stability and proceed in a variety of complex conditions. The HPCNFs based interfacial evaporation provides a new avenue to the high efficiency solar steam generation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• TGR5, p-PKA, and NLRP3-ASC inflammasome were increased and peaked at 24 h after SAH. • INT-777 administration reduced NLRP3-ASC inflammasome in activated microglia after SAH. • INT-777 alleviates delayed neuronal degeneration in the hippocampus after SAH. • INT-777 suppressed NLRP3‐ASC-mediated inflammation via TGR5/cAMP/PKA pathway after SAH. Inflammasome-mediated neuroinflammation plays an important role in the pathogenesis of early brain injury (EBI) following subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). The activation of the TGR5 receptor has been shown to be neuroprotective in a variety of neurological diseases. This study aimed to investigate the effects of the specific synthetic TGR5 agonist, INT-777, in attenuating NLRP3-ASC inflammasome activation and reducing neuroinflammation after SAH. One hundred and eighty-four male Sprague Dawley rats were used. SAH was induced by the endovascular perforation. INT-777 was administered intranasally at 1 h after SAH induction. To elucidate the signaling pathway involved in the effect of INT-777 on inflammasome activation during EBI, TGR5 knockout CRISPR and PKA inhibitor H89 were administered intracerebroventricularly and intraperitoneally at 48 h and 1 h before SAH. The SAH grade, short- and long-term neurobehavioral assessments, brain water content, western blot, immunofluorescence staining, and Nissl staining were performed. The expressions of endogenous TGR5, p-PKA, and NLRP3-ASC inflammasome were increased after SAH. INT-777 administration significantly decreased NLRP3-ASC inflammasome activation in microglia, reduced brain edema and neuroinflammation, leading to improved short-term neurobehavioral functions at 24 h after SAH. The administration of TGR5 CRISPR or PKA inhibitor (H89) abolished the anti-inflammation effects of INT-777, on NLRP3-ASC inflammasome, pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-6, IL-1β, and TNF-a), and neutrophil infiltration at 24 h after SAH. Moreover, early administration of INT-777 attenuated neuronal degeneration in hippocampus on 28 d after SAH. INT-777 attenuated NLRP3-ASC inflammasome-dependent neuroinflammation in the EBI after SAH, partially via TGR5/cAMP/PKA signaling pathway. Early administration of INT-777 may serve as a potential therapeutic strategy for EBI management in the setting of SAH. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

TRAFD1 negatively regulates TLR and RLR signaling in human and mammal; however, its role in teleost fish remains unknown. In this paper, the TRAFD1 homologue has been cloned and characterized from black carp (Mylopharyngodon piceus). Black carp TRAFD1 (bcTRAFD1) consists of 567 amino acids and shows low similarity to that of mammalian TRAFD1, which has been identified as a cytosolic protein through immunofluorescence staining. When co-expressed with bcTRAFD1, the IFN promoter-inducing ability of black carp MAVS (bcMAVS) was obviously dampened in the luciferase reporter assay. Accordingly, bcMAVS-mediated antiviral activity against grass carp reovirus (GCRV) and spring viremia of carp virus (SVCV) was potently repressed by bcTRAFD1 in plaque assay. And the co-immunoprecipitation assay between bcTRAFD1 and bcMAVS has identified the association between these two molecules. Thus, our data supports the conclusion that bcTRAFD1 interacts with bcMAVS and negatively regulates bcMAVS-mediated antiviral signaling during the innate immune activation, which sheds a light on the regulation of MAVS in teleost. • bcTRAFD1 dampens the IFN promoter-inducing ability of bcMAVS. • bcMAVS-mediated antiviral activity was potently repressed by bcTRAFD1. • bcTRAFD1 interacts with bcMAVS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we generalize the implicit variational principle in [9] from autonomous contact Hamiltonian systems in T ⁎ M × R with M is a compact Riemannian manifold to the non-autonomous systems with M is a complete Riemannian manifold. We also give some important properties of action minimizers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Britannin (Bri), isolated from Inula aucheriana, is a sesquiterpene lactone (SL), a class of secondary metabolites. Previous studies have suggested the anti-cancer potential of Bri; however, the molecular mechanism remains elusive. The present study investigated the effects of Bri on liver cancer progression. Our findings indicated that Bri significantly suppressed the growth of liver cancer cell lines. Mechanistic researches revealed that Bri induced apoptosis through the extrinsic and intrinsic apoptotic pathways, as evidenced by the increase of Caspase-8, -9 and -3 cleavages. In addition, Bri-triggered autophagy in liver cancer cells, supported by the up-regulation of light chain 3 (LC3) II, p62, autophagy-related 5 (ATG5) and Beclin 1, as well as the occurrence of autophagic vacuoles. Importantly, Bri increased AMPK activation, while decreased the activity of its down-streaming signal, mTOR. Of note, suppression of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) activation using its inhibitor, Compound C, could inhibit both apoptosis and autophagy induced by Bri. Furthermore, Bri was found to induce reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation in hepatic cancer cells. Notably, reducing ROS production by its scavenger, N-acetyl cysteine (NAC), could down-regulate p-AMPK levels, while up-regulate the phosphorylated mechanistic target of rapamycin (p-mTOR) expressions, accompanied with the restored cell viability, as well as the reduced apoptosis and autophagy in Bri-treated liver cancer cells. Finally, Bri inhibited the tumor growth in vivo without side effects. In conclusion, our study illustrated that Bri could induce apoptosis and autophagy by activating AMPK regulated by ROS in liver cancer cells, supplying molecular bases for developing Bri into an effective candidate against liver cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel chymotrypsin inhibitor, which detected in the seed of wild emmer wheat ( Triticum dicoccoides ), was purified by ion-exchange chromatography, affinity chromatography and Ultracentrifugation. On the basis of its specificity, this inhibitor was named WeCI (wild emmer chymotrypsin inhibitor). SDS-PAGE analysis displayed that the purified WeCI is a single chain polypeptide with a molecular weight of approximately 13 kDa. The inhibition constants (K i ) for amylase and bovine pancreatic chymotrypsin were 1.12 × 10 − 9 M and 2.41 × 10 − 9 M, respectively. Automated sequencing and mass spectrometry analyses revealed that WeCI is a neutral monomeric protein consisting of 119 residues. In vitro, WeCI strongly suppressed bovine pancreatic chymotrypsin as well as chymotrypsin-like activities separated from the midgut of the beet armyworm Spodoptera exigua. No inhibitory activities were found against bovine pancreatic trypsin, bacterial subtilisin, or porcine pancreatic elastase. The primary structure of WeCI was markedly similar (46–95%) to those of several proteins belonging to the wheat crop chymotrypsin/α-amylase inhibitor superfamily and displayed the typical sequence motif of the α-amylase inhibitor–seed storage protein group. WeCI significantly inhibited the growth and development of Spodoptera exigua , dependent on inhibitor concentration. WeCI significantly increased the mortality rate of Spodoptera exigua and caused a significant decrease in its fertility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mitochondrial antiviral signaling protein (MAVS) is as an adaptor in RIG-I like receptor (RLR) signaling, which plays the key role in interferon (IFN) production during host antiviral innate immune activation. MAVS is fine tuned to avoid excess IFN production, which have been extensively studied in human and mammals. However, the regulation of MAVS in teleost still remains obscure. In this manuscript, we cloned ring finger protein 5 (bcRNF5) of black carp (Mylopharyngodon piceus) and characterized this teleost E3 ubiquitin ligase as a negative regulator of MAVS. The coding region of bcRNF5 consists of 615 nucleotides which encode 205 amino acids, containing two trans -membrane domain (TM) and a ring-finger domain (RING). The transcription regulation of bcRNF5 varies in host cells in response to stimulations of LPS, poly (I:C), grass carp reovirus (GCRV) and spring viremia of carp virus (SVCV). bcRNF5 migrates around 22 KDa in immunoblot (IB) assay and distributes mainly in cytoplasm by immunofluorescent (IF) staining test. Moreover, bcRNF5 significantly inhibits bcMAVS-mediated IFN promoter transcription. In addition, both IF and co-immunoprecipitation assay showed that bcRNF5 interacts with bcMAVS. Furthermore, bcMAVS-mediated antiviral ability is distinctly impaired by bcRNF5. Taken together, these results conclude that bcRNF5, as a negative regulator of the MAVS-mediated IFN signaling, may play a key role in host protection upon virus infection in black carp. • bcRNF5 interacts with bcMAVS. • bcRNF5 attenuates bcMAVS-mediated IFN production. • bcRNF5 dampens bcMAVS-mediated antiviral activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sterile triploid hybrids (3n = 150) of gold fish ( Carassius auratus red var ., ♀, 2n = 100) and allotetroploid (♂, 2n = 100) display obviously improved disease resistance and much enhanced growth rate than their parents, which have been cultured widely in China. In this paper, one of the type I IFNs of triploid hybrid (3nIFNa2) has been cloned and characterized. The full-length cDNA of 3nIFNa2 gene consists of 715 nucleotides and the predicted 3nIFNa2 contains 183 amino acids. The transcription of 3nIFNa2 gene was detected in all the examined tissues of triploid hybrid and the mRNA level of 3nIFNa2 was obviously enhanced in response to SVCV and GCRV infection. 3nIFNa2 has been detected in the whole cell lysate of HEK293T cells transfected with plasmids expressing 3nIFNa2 but not in the supernatant media. EPC cells transfected with plasmid expressing 3nIFNa2 at 24 h before SVCV and GCRV infection showed obviously decreased cytopathic effect; and the virus titers in the supernatant media were much lower than those of the control cells. Glycosidase digestion analysis demonstrates that 3nIFNa2 is modified with N-linked glycosylation, which occurs on the asparagine (N) of residue 177 of this cytokine. The un-glycosylated mutant 3nIFNa2-N177Q shows the similar antiviral ability as that of 3nIFNa2, which suggests that the N-linked glycosylation does not contribute directly to its antiviral property. All the above data support the conclusion that 3nIFNa2 is an intracellular cytokine functioning importantly in host antiviral innate immunity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Down-regulation of intestinal P-glycoprotein (P-gp) by soybean oil-based lipid emulsion (SOLE) may cause elevated intestinal permeability of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in patients with total parenteral nutrition, but the appropriate preventative treatment is currently limited. Recently, sodium butyrate (NaBut) has been demonstrated to regulate the expression of P-gp. Therefore, this study aimed to address whether treatment with NaBut could attenuate SOLE-induced increase in intestinal permeability of LPS by modulation of P-gp in vitro . Caco-2 cells were exposed to SOLE with or without NaBut. SOLE-induced down-regulation of P-gp was significantly attenuated by co-incubation with NaBut. Nuclear recruitment of FOXO 3a in response to NaBut was involved in P-gp regulation. Transport studies revealed that SOLE-induced increase in permeability of LPS was significantly attenuated by co-incubation with NaBut. Collectively, our results suggested that NaBut may be a potentially useful medication to prevent SOLE-induced increase in intestinal permeability of LPS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mx (myxovirus resistance) is an important antiviral protein in the innate immune responses of vertebrates to microbial pathogens. In this study, we cloned and characterized Mx1 of black carp ( Mylopharyngodon piceus ). The full-length cDNA of black carp Mx1 (bcMx1) consists of 2781 nucleotides and the predicted bcMx1 protein contains 631 amino acids. bcMx1 contains a GTPase domain at the N-terminnus, a “central interactive domain” in the middle and a GTPase effector domain at the C-terminus. bcMx1 mRNA was constitutively transcribed in all tissues tested, including the heart, liver, spleen, kidney, intestine, muscle, skin and gill; and bcMx1 mRNA levels increased in all but the gill after grass carp reovirus (GCRV) or viraemia of carp virus (SVCV) infection. Quantitative PCR analysis of Mylopharyngodon piceus fin (MPF) cells indicated that bcMx1 mRNA levels increased after GCRV or SVCV infection at different multiplicities of infection (MOI). Western blotting demonstrated that the molecular weight of bcMx1 is ∼75 kDa and immunofluorescent staining data of both HeLa cells and EPC cells showed that bcMx1 is a cytosolic protein. EPC cells transfected with plasmid expressing bcMx1 showed increased antiviral activity against SVCV and GCRV. All our data suggest that bcMx1 is an antiviral protein in the innate immune response of the black carp. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

RIG-I like receptors (RLRs) detect cytosolic RNA virus components and initiate antiviral innate immune response through downstream signaling in vertebrates. In this paper, LGP2 of black carp ( Mylopharyngodon piceus ) has been cloned and characterized, which is a key member of RLR family. The full-length cDNA of black carp LGP2 (bcLGP2) comprises 2941 nucleotides and the predicted bcLGP2 protein contains 682 amino acids. bcLGP2 shares core homologous structural domains of RLRs, including a N-terminnal DExD/H helicase domain, a helicase superfamily c-terminal domain, and a C-terminal regulatory domain (CTD). bcLGP2 mRNA was constitutively detected in all selected tissues including heart, liver, spleen, kidney, intestine, muscle, skin, gill; and bcLGP2 mRNA level was increased in all the tissues except gill in response to GCRV or SVCV infection. Q-PCR of Mylopharyngodon piceus fin (MPF) cells demonstrated that bcLGP2 transcription was up-regulated by Poly (I:C) treatment, GCRV or SVCV infection, but not by LPS or PMA treatment. Western blot analysis demonstrated that the molecular weight of bcLGP2 was around 80 KDa; and the immunofluorescence staining of both HeLa cells and EPC cells showed that bcLGP2 was a cytosolic protein. EPC cells transfected with plasmid expressing bcLGP2 showed obviously improved antiviral ability against SVCV and GCRV. In general, these data support the conclusion that bcLGP2 functions importantly in the host antiviral innate immune response. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Triploid hybrid of gold fish ( Carassius auratus red var ., ♀, 2n = 100) and allotetroploid (♂, 2n = 100) displays much improved disease resistance than its parents. In this paper, one of the type I IFNs of triploid hybrid (3nIFNa) has been cloned and characterized. The full-length cDNA of 3nIFNa consists of 740 nucleotides and the predicted 3nIFNa protein contains 183 amino acids. The mRNA transcription of 3nIFNa was detected in all the selected tissues of triploid hybrid and was obviously enhanced after SVCV or GCRV infection. bcIFNa was detected in both whole cell lysate and supernatant media of HEK293T cells transfected with plasmids expressing bcIFNa. It is interesting that the pre-matured 3nIFNa is modified with N-linked glycosylation, which is located within the N-terminal signal peptide. EPC cells showed much-decreased cytopathic effect when treated with 3nIFNa-containing media or transfected with plasmid expressing 3nIFNa at 24 h before SVCV or GCRV infection; and the virus titers in these cells were much lower than those of the control EPC cells. All the above data support the conclusion that 3nIFNa is a secreted cytokine functioning in host innate immune response against virus invasion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study aimed to explore the pathogenesis of autoimmune myocarditis induced by PD-1 inhibitors and their potential therapeutic targets. Mouse models of autoimmune myocarditis induced by PD-1 inhibitor in mouse models of polymyositis were established. The expression level of PD-1 and regulatory T cells (Tregs), CD4, CD8 + T cells, inflammation, apoptosis and autophagy-related factors, including IL-6, TGF-β, AMA-M2, Fas/FasL, LC3 and p62 were detected in peripheral blood , muscle or myocardium of mice in each group, using ELISA, RT-PCR, Western Blot and immunofluorescence. In addition, HE and TUNEL staining and ultrastructural scanning were performed on the myocardium of mice in each group. Results showed that the expression level of PD-1 in the two myositis groups was significantly lower than that in the control group, and the level of PD-1 was lower in the myocarditis group than that in the polymyositis group. In the myocardium, TGF-β, p62, and Tregs proportion showed the same expression level trend as PD-1, while CD8, IL-6, IL-10 and LC3 showed the opposite trend. Levels of Fas/FasL were significantly higher in both myositis groups, but were slightly lower in the myocarditis group, as was AMA-M2. Inflammation, apoptosis, and autophagy were observed in both myositis groups, but were more severe in the myocarditis group. In summary, the decreased expression level of PD-1 leads to decreased Tregs level in the myocardium, aggravated inflammatory response, apoptosis and autophagy, which may be the pathological mechanism of myocarditis induced by PD-1 inhibitors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The transcription factor forkhead box D3 (FOXD3), widely studied as a transcriptional repressor in embryogenesis, participates in the carcinogenesis of many cancers. However, the expression pattern and role of FOXD3 in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) have not been well characterized. We report that FOXD3 is significantly downregulated in NSCLC cell lines and clinical tissues. FOXD3 overexpression significantly inhibits cell growth and results in G1 cell cycle arrest in NSCLC A549 and H1299 cells. In a xenograft tumor model, FOXD3 overexpression inhibits tumor growth and angiogenesis. Remarkably, expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) was reduced in FOXD3 overexpression models both in vitro and in vivo . These findings suggest that FOXD3 plays a potential tumor suppressor role in NSCLC progression and represents a promising clinical prognostic marker and therapeutic target for this disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cement stabilization is used extensively to remediate soils contaminated with heavy metals. However, previous studies suggest that the elevated zinc (Zn) and lead (Pb) concentrations in the contaminated soils would substantially retard the cement hydration, leading to the deterioration of the performance of cement stabilized soils. This study presents a new binder, KMP, composed of oxalic acid-activated phosphate rock, monopotassium phosphate and reactive magnesia. The effectiveness of stabilization using this binder is investigated on soils spiked with Zn and Pb, individually and together. Several series of tests are conducted including toxicity characteristic leaching (TCLP), ecotoxicity in terms of luminescent bacteria test and unconfined compressive strength. The leachability of a field Zn- and Pb- contaminated soil stabilized with KMP is also evaluated by TCLP leaching test. The results show that the leached Zn concentrations are lower than the China MEP regulatory limit except when Zn and Pb coexist and for the curing time of 7 days. On the other hand, the leached Pb concentrations for stabilized soils with Pb alone or mixed Zn and Pb contamination are much lower than the China MEP or USEPA regulatory limit, irrespective of the curing time. The luminescent bacteria test results show that the toxicity of the stabilized soils has been reduced considerably and is classified as slightly toxic class. The unconfined compressive strength of the soils decrease with the increase in the Zn concentration. The stabilized soils with mixed Zn and Pb contaminants exhibit notably higher leached Zn concentration, while there is lower unconfined compressive strength relative to the soils when contaminated with Zn alone. The X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscope analyses reveal the presence of bobierrite (Mg3(PO4) 2·8H2O) and K-struvite (MgKPO4·6H2O) as the main products formed in the KMP stabilized uncontaminated soils; the formation of hopeite (Zn3(PO4) 2·4H2O), scholzite (CaZn2(PO4) 2·2H2O), zinc hydroxide (Zn(OH)2), and fluoropyromorphite (Pb5(PO4)3F) in the soils are the main mechanisms for immobilization of Zn and Pb with the KMP binder. The change in the relative quantities of the formed phosphate-based products, with respect to the Zn concentration and presence of mixed Zn and Pb contaminants, can well explain the measured impact of the Zn concentration levels and presence of both Zn and Pb contaminants on the unconfined compressive strength of the KMP stabilized soils. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although ischemia/reperfusion (I/R)-induced myocardial contractile dysfunction is associated with a prominent decrease in myofilament Ca 2 + sensitivity, the underlying mechanisms have not yet been fully clarified. Phosphorylation of ventricular myosin light chain 2 (MLC-2v) facilitates actin–myosin interactions and enhances contractility, however, its level and regulation by cardiac MLC kinase (cMLCK) and cMLC phosphatase (cMLCP) in I/R hearts are debatable. In this study, the levels and/or effects of MLC-2v phosphorylation, cMLCK, cMLCP, and proteases during I/R were determined. Global myocardial I/R-suppressed cardiac performance in isolated rat hearts was concomitant with decreases of MLC-2v phosphorylation, myofibrillar Ca 2 + -stimulated ATPase activity, and cMLCK content, but not cMLCP proteins. Consistently, simulated I/R in isolated cardiomyocytes inhibited cell shortening, Ca 2 + transients, MLC-2v phosphorylation, and myofilament sensitivity to Ca 2 + . These observations were reversed by cMLCK overexpression, while the specific cMLCK knockdown by short hairpin RNA (shRNA) had the opposite effect. Moreover, the inhibition of matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2, a zinc-dependent endopeptidase) reversed IR-decreased cMLCK, MLC-2v phosphorylation, myofibrillar Ca 2 + -stimulated ATPase activity, myocardial contractile function, and myofilament sensitivity to Ca 2 + , while the inhibition or knockdown of cMLCK by ML-9 or specific shRNA abolished MMP-2 inhibition-induced cardioprotection. Finally, the co-localization in cardiomyocytes and interaction in vivo of MMP-2 and cMLCK were observed. Purified recombinant rat cMLCK was concentration- and time-dependently degraded by rat MMP-2 in vitro, and this was prevented by the inhibition of MMP-2. These findings reveal that the I/R-activated MMP-2 leads to the degradation of cMLCK, resulting in a reduction of MLC-2v phosphorylation, and myofibrillar Ca 2 + -stimulated ATPase activity, which subsequently suppresses myocardial contractile function through a decrease of myofilament Ca 2 + sensitivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper deals with the spectral properties of the Sturm–Liouville operators generated by the differential expression L ( y ) = 1 w ( − ( p ( x ) y ′ ) ′ + υ ( x ) y ) with singular coefficients υ ( x ) in the sense of distributions. In particular, we study the operators with δ -type point interactions at the centers x k on the positive half line in terms of energy forms. Necessary and sufficient conditions and also simple sufficient conditions are given for the spectrum of the operators to be discrete. We also prove sufficient conditions on the stability of the continuous spectrum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lecanicillium attenuatum is an important nematophagous fungus with potential as a biopesticide against plant-parasitic nematodes. The Pr1A-like cuticle-degrading protease ( Cdep1 ) gene originating from the entomopathogenic fungus Beauveria bassiana was transformed into the nematophagous fungus L. attenuatum using a polyethylene-glycol mediated protoplast-based transformation system. Protease activity was increased 0.64- to 1.63-fold 2–10 d after growth in the transformed L. attenuatum . Inhibition of egg-hatching and J2 motility of soybean cyst nematodes ( Heterodera glycines ) by cell-free fungal culture filtrates were enhanced by 17–76% 2–14 d and 43–152% 1–13 d after incubation, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Background: Currently, several large studies showed that roflumilast has been demonstrated efficacy during treatment chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients, but also caused some side effects. Aim: To assess the efficacy and safety of roflumilast in COPD patients. Methods: A computerized search through electronic databases included PubMed, EMBASE, CINAHL, the Cochrane clinical trials database, Physiotherapy Evidence Database and ClinicalTrials.gov was performed to identify randomized controlled trials. The primary outcomes were trough forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1) (reported pre-bronchodilator values) and exacerbation rate. Secondary outcomes included other spirometric parameters, health-related quality of life, the overall mortality rate and adverse events. Weighted mean differences (WMDs), relative risks (RRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated and pooled using a random effects model. Results: Eleven trials involving 9675 patients met the inclusion criteria. Roflumilast significantly reduced the mean exacerbation rate (mild, moderate or severe) (WMD = −0.23; 95% CI = −0.33 to −0.13; p < 0.00001) and improved trough FEV1 (WMD = 53.52 ml; 95% CI = 42.49 to 64.55; p < 0.00001), and other post-bronchodilator spirometric parameters (e.g., forced vital capacity, etc.). Roflumilast did not improve St George's Respiratory Questionnaire total score (WMD = −0.70 units; 95% CI = −2.65 to 1.26; p = 0.49) and decrease the overall mortality rate (RR = 0.90; 95% CI = 0.63 to 1.29; p = 0.56). Roflumilast increased some adverse events including diarrhea, headache, nausea, weight loss, and insomnia. Conclusions: Roflumilast significantly reduces the mean exacerbation rate in COPD patients. Although there are insufficient clinical evidence on other clinical endpoints and high risk of some adverse events, roflumilast therapy may benefit COPD patients. Further studies are needed to pay more attention to the long-term efficacy and safety of roflumilast. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper deals with the eigenvalue problems for the Sturm–Liouville operators generated by the differential expression with singular coefficients in the sense of distributions. We obtain the inequalities among the eigenvalues corresponding to different self-adjoint boundary conditions. The continuity region, the differentiability and the monotonicity of the th eigenvalue corresponding to the separated boundary conditions are given. Oscillation properties of the eigenfunctions of all the coupled Sturm–Liouville problems are characterized. The main results of this paper can also be applied to solve a class of transmission problems. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Ginger (Zingiber officinale) belongs to the Zingiberaceae family of flowering plants, which originated in South-East Asia and has long been a popular culinary ingredient. It has been demonstrated that ginger contains a variety of nutrients, such as carbohydrates, proteins, lipids, minerals and vitamins, as well as health-promoting phytochemicals, mainly phenolic compounds and ginger essential oil. In addition, ginger has excellent antioxidant, antibacterial, and many other biological activities. Therefore, ginger has potential applications in functional food development, aquatic products and meat preservation, and food packaging. However, the full utilization of ginger's benefits and its incorporation into food products remain largely unexplored. Therefore, this review provides a comprehensive summary of the nutritional components, phytochemical compositions, biological properties, and potential applications of ginger in the food industry. [Display omitted] • The nutritional and phytochemical profiles of ginger are systematized. • The bioactive properties of ginger are discussed. • Ginger is underutilized plant with great potential for value-added products. • Ginger has the potential to develop functional foods. • Ginger is promising in the field of food preservation and food packaging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Shewanella putrefaciens is an important specific spoilage organism (SSO) in seafood under low-temperature storage and can form biofilms on seafood processing-related contact surfaces, which exacerbates seafood spoilage and causes food safety problems. The characterization of and dynamic change in biofilms formed by Shewanella putrefaciens on three seafood processing-related contact surfaces were investigated in this study. An effective strategy to eliminate mature biofilms by acidic electrolysis water (AEW) was provided. Shewanella putrefaciens can form biofilms on glass, stainless steel and polystyrene, which are closely connected with surface properties such as hydrophilicity/hydrophobicity and surface roughness. AEW can be an excellent choice to clean mature biofilms formed by S. putrefaciens. AEW at a concentration of 3 g/L can remove almost all biofilms on the three common food contact materials tested. There is a bactericidal effect on the biofilm, reducing the possibility of secondary contamination. This study will contribute to promoting the application of AEW for controlling biofilms during seafood processing. • Using AEW to remove biofilm of seafood spoilage organism on food contact surfaces. • The AEW (3 g/L) removes almost all biofilms on three common food contact materials. • The application of AEW in the bacterial contamination control of seafood processing was provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Small RNAs are widespread in plants and animals. They largely include microRNAs (miRNAs) and short interfering RNAs (siRNAs), and they play key roles in gene and chromatin regulations. Here we describe in detail the method for an effective construction of the recently developed short tandem target mimic (STTM) technology to block small RNA functions in plants and animals. STTM is a powerful technology complementing the previous target mimic (TM) in plants and the miRNA sponge, as well as the recently defined endogenous competing RNA (CeRNA) in animals. We expect STTM will not only be effective in blocking small RNA functions in plants but will also become a popular approach in animals. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: We introduce an exponential martingale for a Cox risk process with Poisson shot noise intensity. As applications of the exponential martingale, we obtain the sample path large and moderate deviation principles. Finally, we give an estimate of ruin probability. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Following the ammonia treatment, the pores created by the folds allow for electrolyte storage and facilitate ion transport. The interlayer spacing between MXene nanosheets widens due to the volume increase when water freezes. The generous ion transport paths and redox-active ammonium ions offer higher specific capacity and faster reaction kinetics. [Display omitted] Ti 3 C 2 T x MXene demonstrates excellent potential as an anode material for sodium-ion capacitors. However, the narrow interlayer spacing and self-stacking phenomenon limit its applicability. In this study, we demonstrate an easy two-step method involving freezing and crumpling of MXene nanosheets to improve their Na-ion storage via the addition of ammonium ions (referred to as FCM nanosheets). Flat MXene particles aggregate and undergo folding in an alkaline solution. Ammonium ions can penetrate the gaps between MXene nanosheets, expanding interlayer spaces and inducing the formation of folds. Compared to MXene nanosheets, FCM nanosheets exhibit improved ion transfer kinetics and additional high capacity owing to the intercalated ammonium ions. The manufactured FCM anode exhibits remarkable electrochemical properties, including a high specific capacity of 313 mAh g−1 and stability over 15,000 cycles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] In this paper, we have developed a simple and efficient sulfur-amine chemistry strategy to prepare a three-dimensional (3D) porous Ti 3 C 2 T x composite with large amounts of N and S terminal groups. The well-designed 3D macroporous architecture presents enlarged interlayer spacing, large specific surface area, and unique porous structure, which successfully solves the re-stacking issue of MXene during storage and electrode fabrication. It is the amount of concentrated hydrochloric acid added to the S-EDA (ethylenediamine)/MXene colloidal suspension that is critical to the formation of 3D morphology. In addition, N and S terminals on MXene could improve the adsorption ability of K+. Owing to the synergistic effect of the structure design and terminal modification, the N, S codoped three-dimensional porous Ti 3 C 2 T x (3D-NSPM) material shows a high surface capacitive contribution and rapid diffusion kinetics for K+ and Na+. As a result, the as-prepared 3D-NSPM delivers high reversible capacity (237 and 273 mAh g−1 at 0.1 A g−1 for PIBs and SIBs, respectively), superb cycling stability (84.9% capacity retention after 10,000 cycles at 1 A g−1 in PIBs and 74.0% capacity retention after 2200 cycles at 1 A g−1 in SIBs), and excellent rate capability (111 and 196 mAh g−1 at 5 A g−1 for PIBs and SIBs, respectively), which are superior to other MXene-based anodes for PIBs and SIBs. Moreover, the described strategy provides a new insight for constructing the 3D porous structure from 2D building blocks beyond MXene. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Interactions between the proteasome inhibitor, bortezomib, and the sphingosine kinase (SPK1) inhibitor, SKI, were examined in BCR/ABL human leukemia cells. Coexposure of K562 or chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) cells from patients to subtoxic concentrations of SKI (10μM) and bortezomib (100nM) resulted in a synergistic increase in caspase-3 cleavage and apoptosis. These events were associated with the downregulation of BCR–ABL and Mcl-1, and a marked reduction in SPK1 expression. In imatinib mesylate-resistant K562 cells that displayed decreased BCR–ABL expression, bortezomib/SKI treatment markedly increased apoptosis and inhibited colony-formation in association with the downregulation of Mcl-1. Finally, the bortezomib/SKI regimen also potently induced the downregulation of BCR/ABL and Mcl-1 in human leukemia cells. Collectively, these findings suggest that combining SKI and bortezomib may represent a novel strategy in leukemia, including apoptosis-resistant BCR–ABL+ hematologic malignancies. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: KAI1, a metastasis-suppressor gene belonging to the tetraspanin family, is known to inhibit cancer metastasis without affecting the primary tumorigenicity by inhibiting the epidermal growth factor (EGF) signaling pathway. Recent studies have shown that hypoxic conditions of solid tumors induce high-level autophagy and KAI1 expression. However, the relationship between autophagy and KAI1 remains unclear. By using transmission electron microscopy, confocal microscopy, and Western blotting, we found that KAI1 can induce autophagy in a dose- and time-dependent manner in the human pancreatic cell line MiaPaCa-2. KAI1-induced autophagy was confirmed by the expression of autophagy-related proteins LC3 and Beclin 1. KAI1 induces autophagy through phosphorylation of extracellular signal-related kinases rather than that of AKT. KAI1-induced autophagy protects MiaPaCa-2 cells from apoptosis and proliferation inhibition partially through the downregulation of poly [adenosine diphosphate (ADP)-ribose] polymerase (PARP) cleavage and caspase-3 activation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The impact of four modern fungicides JS399-19 (2-cyano-3-amino-3-phenylancryic acetate) (novel fungicide), azoxystrobin (a strobilurin), tebuconazole (a triazole) and carbendazim (a benzimidazole), applied as foliar spray at the recommended field rate, on the physiology and biochemistry of the senescence process and grain yield was studied in winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L. cv. ‘Nannong No. 9918’) under natural environmental conditions. Fungicide treatments to wheat plants at growth stage [ZGS] 57 (3/4 of head emerged) significantly increased the chlorophyll (CHL) and soluble protein (SP) content and decreased the malondialdehyde (MDA) content and electrolyte leakage. Additionally, activities of the antioxidative enzymes superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and peroxidase (POD) in flag leaves of the fungicide-treated plants were also higher than that in untreated plants. These coincided with elevated levels of H2O2 and reduced level of in the fungicide-treated plants. The results suggested that the fungicide-induced delay of senescence was due to an enhanced antioxidant enzyme activity protecting the plants from harmful active oxygen species (AOS). Because all fungicides can induce the delay of wheat senescence, fungicide-treated wheat shown higher grain yield than untreated wheat. Of all tested fungicides, JS399-19, azoxystrobin and tebuconazole showed similar effects on delaying senescence of wheat and enhancing the grain yield of wheat, but JS399-19 was more efficient in general. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: A new class of tests of extreme-value dependence for bivariate copulas is proposed. It is based on the process comparing the empirical copula with a natural nonparametric rank-based estimator of the unknown copula under extreme-value dependence. A multiplier technique is used to compute approximate -values for several candidate test statistics. Extensive Monte Carlo experiments were carried out to compare the resulting procedures with the tests of extreme-value dependence recently studied in Ben Ghorbal et al. (2009) and Kojadinovic and Yan (2010) . The finite-sample performance study of the tests is complemented by local power calculations. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Using multi-sampling methods, seeds of xerophytic species, Caragana korshinskii, Artemisia sphaerocephala, and Hedysarum scoparium were collected from semi-arid regions of northwest China, while those of Reaumuria soongorica and Zygophyllum xanthoxylum were harvested from arid regions. Seed germination in these five species was studied under water limiting conditions, imposed by increasing concentrations of polyethylene glycol (PEG 6000). Seeds of C. korshinskii, one of the semi-arid species, had the highest germination capacity at the most negative osmotic potential (15.0% seed germinated at −2.1 Mega Pascal (MPa), followed by H. scoparium (6.5% germinated at −1.8MPa), R. soongorica (2.2% germinated at −1.8MPa) and A. sphaerocephala (8.3% germinated at −1.5MPa). Seeds of Z. xanthoxylum, an arid habitat species, showed the least germination in response to limited water, with a germination percentage of only 5.2% at an osmotic potential of −1.2MPa. Z. xanthoxylum the species native to the most dry environments showed the highest sensitivity to water availability of all five species. This strategy is proposed as an adaptive germination mechanism of xerophytes native to arid dunes. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: An -layered double hydroxides (NiAl–LDHs) precursor has been synthesized in the pores of spherical γ-Al2O3 particles. After calcination at 500°C, a NiO/γ-Al2O3 catalyst precursor was obtained. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, temperature programmed reduction, and temperature programmed desorption of hydrogen showed that in the material prepared by calcination of NiAl–LDHs supported on Al2O3, the NiO was characterized by higher reduction temperature, stronger interactions with Al2O3, and higher nickel dispersion compared with the NiO in a material prepared by conventional impregnation of γ-Al2O3 with an aqueous solution of Ni2+ ions followed by calcination at 500°C. The vapor phase hydrodechlorination of chlorobenzene using molecular hydrogen was studied using Ni/γ-Al2O3 catalysts prepared by reduction of the NiO/γ-Al2O3 catalyst precursors synthesized by the two different methods. Under identical reaction conditions, the Ni/γ-Al2O3 catalyst obtained from the LDHs precursor exhibited not only higher activity but also better stability. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: RAP80, a nuclear protein with two functional ubiquitin-interaction motifs (UIMs) at its N-terminus, plays a critical role in the regulation of estrogen receptor alpha and DNA damage response signaling. A yeast two-hybrid screen identified the SUMO-conjugating enzyme UBC9 as a protein interacting with RAP80. The interaction of RAP80 with UBC9 was confirmed by co-immunoprecipitation and GST pull-down analyses. The region between aa 122–204 was critical for the interaction of RAP80 with UBC9. In addition, we demonstrate that RAP80 is a target for SUMO-1 modification in intact cells. Expression of UBC9 enhanced RAP80 mono-sumoylation and also induced multi-sumoylation of RAP80. In addition to SUMO-1, RAP80 was efficiently conjugated to SUMO-3 but was only a weak substrate for SUMO-2 conjugation. These findings suggest that sumoylation plays a role in the regulation of RAP80 functions. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In this paper, a variable structure control (VSC) design for a chaotic symmetric gyro with linear-plus-cubic damping is considered. The results show that the stable or unstable (chaotic) nonlinear gyros can be controlled and asymptotically driven the system orbits to arbitrarily desired trajectories. Numerical simulations demonstrate the validity and feasibility of the proposed VSC design method. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Position control of impact oscillator under asymmetric double-side endstops is considered. The results show that the stable or unstable (chaotic) impact oscillators can be controlled and kept in a desired position. The proposed method is based on a feedback control force and the algorithm shows a fast convergence rate. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This study addresses the synchronization of chaotic gyros with unknown parameters and external disturbance via adaptive sliding mode control. To achieve synchronization, a switching surface is adopted such that it becomes easy to ensure the stability of the error dynamics in the sliding mode. Then an adaptive sliding mode controller (ASMC) is derived to guarantee the occurrence of the sliding motion even when the parameters of the drive and response gyros are fully unknown. Numerical simulations are presented to verify that the synchronization can be achieved by using this ASMC. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In this paper, we propose a novel genetic algorithm (GA) with a multi-crossover fashion to estimate the associated coefficients for a class of nonlinear discrete-time multivariable dynamical systems. Unlike the traditional crossover method of using two chromosomes, the proposed method uses three chromosomes to achieve a crossover. According to the adjusting direction by crossing three chromosomes, more excellent offspring can be produced. To solve the identification problem of multivariable nonlinear discrete-time systems, each of estimated system coefficients represents a gene, and a collection of genes is referred to as a chromosome in the view of GA. The chromosomes in the population are then evolved using the proposed multi-crossover method. An illustrative example of multivariable nonlinear systems is given to demonstrate the effectiveness, as compared with the traditional crossover method, of the proposed method. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Adult height (stature), as an important parameter of human physical development, has been studied in many populations. Recently, we reported a whole genome scan of height on a sample of 630 Caucasian subjects from 53 human pedigrees. Two chromosome regions, 6q24–25 and 7q31.3–36, achieved low linkage signals (multipoint LOD score ⩽0.5), but gained significant results in the linkage studies of height by other groups. In addition, the region 6q24–25 harbors the ER-α gene, an important candidate gene for linear growth. To resolve the controversies over these two regions for height, linkage exclusion analyses were performed in an extended sample of 79 pedigrees with 1816 subjects, which include the 53 pedigrees containing 630 subjects for our previous whole genome study and additional 128 new subjects, and 26 new pedigrees containing 1058 subjects. The two regions, 6q24–25 and 7q31.3–36, were excluded at a relative effect size of 10% or greater (p value&#60;0.0005) and 5% or greater (p value&#60;0.0018), respectively. Our results suggest that the two regions may not contribute substantially to height variation in our Caucasian population. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: D-type cyclins are essential for the progression through the G1 phase of the cell cycle. Besides serving as cell cycle regulators, D-type cyclins were recently reported to have transcription regulation functions. Here, we report that cyclin D3 is a new interacting partner of vitamin D receptor (VDR), a member of the superfamily of nuclear receptors for steroid hormones, thyroid hormone, and the fat-soluble vitamins A and D. The interaction was confirmed with methods of yeast two-hybrid system, in vitro binding analysis and in vivo co-immunoprecipitation. Cyclin D3 interacted with VDR in a ligand-independent manner, but treatment of the ligand, 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3, strengthened the interaction. Confocal microscopy analysis showed that ligand-activated VDR led to an accumulation of cyclin D3 in the nuclear region. Cyclin D3 up-regulated transcriptional activity of VDR and this effect was counteracted by overexpression of CDK4 and CDK6. These findings provide us a new clue to understand the transcription regulation functions of D-type cyclins. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: TNF-α has been shown to be involved in cardiac dysfunction during ischemia/reperfusion injury; however, no information regarding the status of TNF-α production in myocardial injury due to intracellular Ca2+-overload is available in the literature. The intracellular Ca2+-overload was induced in the isolated rat hearts subjected to 5min Ca2+-depletion and 30min Ca2+-repletion (Ca2+-paradox). The Ca2+-paradox hearts exhibited a dramatic depression in left ventricular developed pressure, a marked elevation in left ventricular end diastolic pressure, and more than a 4-fold increase in TNF-α content. The ratio of cytosolic to homogenate nuclear factor-κB (NFκB) was decreased whereas the ratio of phospho-NFκB to total NFκB was increased in the Ca2+-paradox hearts. All these changes due to Ca2+-paradox were significantly attenuated upon treating the hearts with 100μM pentoxifylline. These results suggest that activation of NFκB and increased production of TNF-α may play an important role in cardiac injury due to intracellular Ca2+-overload. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

[Display omitted] • The carbonized recycled melamine sponge obtained excellent low-cost porous matrix. • FeNi@NCS shows lower reaction potential and higher electron transfer ability on UOR. • Successfully assembled the DBHPFC using urine as fuel. • DUHPFC presents excellent open circuit voltage. The direct urea fuel cell (DUFC) is a power generation equipment with urea-rich wastewater or urine as fuel source. It has the unique ability to purify sewage while simultaneously generating electricity, making it a highly efficient and environmentally friendly option. In this paper, pomegranate seed-like Ni nano-blocks and Fe nanosheets were synthesized by electrodeposition and chemical reduction and attached to the carbonized melamine sponge matrix. The N -doped carbon sponge (NCS) provided a large number of polyhedral holes, which allowed for efficient gas escape through channels. The combination of Fe reduces the initial urea oxidation potential, reaction activation energy and reaction resistance. The synthesized FeNi supported on N -doped carbon sponge composite (FeNi@NCS) has a catalytic current density of 625 mA cm−2 and a Tafel slope of 42.51 mV dec−1 for urea electrooxidation reaction (UOR). Assembling the direct urine-hydrogen peroxide fuel cell (DUrHPFC) resulted in the highest performance output. The open circuit voltage (OCV) was 0.98 V, and the peak power density reached 9.61 mW cm−2. The results show that the prepared catalyst provides an opportunity to solve the problems that hinder the development of urea green cycle at present. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] The emerging aqueous Zn-ion batteries (ZIBs) with their low price and inherent safety are showing strong competitiveness in the energy storage field. In this work, layer-by-layer stacked amorphous V 2 O 5 @Ti 3 C 2 T x heterostructures anchored on three-dimensional carbon cloth (3D CC), synthesized by annealing process and subsequent in-situ electrochemical induction, are reported as high capacity and stable cathode for ZIBs. In this composite cathode, amorphous V 2 O 5 @Ti 3 C 2 T x synergistic heterostructure provides isotropic Zn2+ migration channels and rapid electron transfer kinetics, while the 3D CC substrate can ensure that the bulk phase in the electrode material is also utilized to maximize the synergistic effect. As a result, the CC/a-V 2 O 5 @Ti 3 C 2 Ti x cathode achieves a high specific capacity of 567 mAh/g at 0.1 A/g, a satisfactory rate performance of 213 mAh/g at 10 A/g, together with a long cycle life of 96.2 % capacity retention after 2000 cycles. Ex-situ characterizations show that the CC/a-V 2 O 5 @Ti 3 C 2 T x cathode undergoes a highly reversible Zn2+/H+ co-intercalation/deintercalation mechanism during the discharge/charging process. In addition, based on the CC/a-V 2 O 5 @Ti 3 C 2 T x cathode, the assembled flexible ZIB can operate properly under different bending degrees, showing its practicality in flexible devices. This work provides insight into the rational design of cathode materials with high Zn-storage performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • The biogeographic dispersal has affected current local species richness of sky islands in the Himalaya-Hengduan Mountains. • Gaultheria ser. Trichophyllae mostly evolved toward higher longitudes (eastward), with the eastward intra-regional dispersals and westward inter-regional dispersals frequently occurred. • Frequent eastward intra-regional dispersals may be facilitated by paleo-drainages reorganization and monsoon intensification. • The dispersal time and distance, rather than frequency significantly influence the pattern of species richness of Gaultheria ser. Trichophyllae. In addition to topography and climate, biogeographic dispersal has been considered to influence plant diversity in the Himalaya-Hengduan Mountains (HHM), yet, the mode and tempo of sky island dispersal and its influence on species richness has been little explored. Through phylogenetic analysis of Gaultheria ser. Trichophyllae , a sky island alpine clade within the HHM, we test the hypothesis that dispersal has affected current local species richness. We inferred the dynamics of biogeographic dispersal with correlation tests on direction, distance, occurrence time, and regional species richness. We found that G. ser. Trichophyllae originated at the end of the Miocene and mostly dispersed toward higher longitudes (eastward). In particular, shorter intra-regional eastward dispersals and longer inter-regional westward dispersals were most frequently observed. We detected a prevalence of eastward intra-region dispersals in both glacial periods and interglacials. These dispersals may have been facilitated by the reorganization of paleo-drainages and monsoon intensification through time. We suggest that the timing of dispersal corresponding to glacial periods and the prevalence of intra-region dispersal, rather than dispersal frequency, most influenced the pattern of species richness of G. ser. Trichophyllae. This study facilitates a more comprehensive understanding of biodiversity in the sky islands within the HHM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Solubility of Anthraquione Disperse Dyestuffs SC-CO 2 was measured. • Temperature ranges of (343.15–373.15) K and pressures of (14.0–22.0) MPa. • Correlated and predicted by neural network model with input, hidden, and output layers. • Akaike's Information Criteria (AIC) was used to determine a minimum number of parameters in the neural network model. • Good agreement between the experimental and calculated values was obtained by the neural network model. The solubility of Disperse Violet 4, Disperse Violet 27, and Disperse Blue 72 were measured in supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO 2) over the temperature ranges of 343.15 K to 373.15 K and pressures of 14 MPa to 22 MPa. Also, the solubility of Disperse Red 11 in SC-CO 2 was obtained at the temperature of 343.15 K and pressure ranges of 14 MPa to 22 MPa and at the pressure of 14 MPa and temperatures of 343.15 K to 373.15 K, for an extension of the solubility results previously published. The neural network ANN formulated the experimental data in terms of temperature and pressure as input layers, solubility as the output layer, and the number of neurons in the hidden layer. The calculation results show that five different kinds of dyestuff solubility data at the temperature ranges of 343.15 K to 373.15 K, pressures of 14 MPa to 22 MPa as well as the solubility data of Disperse Red 4 and Disperse Red 15 taken from the previous work could be estimated accurately by BP neural network with a fitting level of 0.999. Moreover, the solubility data were correlated with eight different kinds of empirical models proposed previously and compared with those calculated by the ANN. It was found that the ANN model could represent the solubility of anthraquinone dyestuffs in SC-CO 2 better than the empirical models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The N, S dual-doped porous graphitic carbon materials with the high graphitization degree were synthesized from the light fraction of coal tar pitch and waste sponge through a facile "killing two birds with one stone" process. The suitable N and S doping not only can provide extra electroactive sites, but also can improve the storage capacity of Zn ions through the decrease in E a value for LC-750 cathode. [Display omitted] • The N, S dual-doped porous graphitic carbon is prepared via a "killing two birds with one stone" strategy. • The LC-750 exhibits superior pore structures and high graphitization degree. • The LC-750 cathode shows high capacity and excellent performance in AZICs. • The N and S incorporation enhances the Zn2+ adsorption ability and charge transfer behavior. Emerging aqueous zinc–ion hybrid capacitors (AZICs) are considered a promising energy storage because of their superior electrochemical performance. The pore structure, suitable heteroatom content, and graphitization degree (GD) of carbon-based cathodes significantly influence the electrochemical performance of AZICs. The N, S dual-doped porous graphitic carbon materials (LC-750) with the combined characteristics of high GD (1.11) and large specific surface area (1678.38 m2 g−1) are successfully developed by a facile "killing two birds with one stone" strategy using K 3 Fe(C 2 O 4) 3 ·3H 2 O as the activating and graphitizing agent, and waste sponge (WS) and coal tar pitch (CTP) as the heteroatom and carbon resource, respectively. Results show that the LC-750 cathode displays high capacities of 185.3 and 95.2 mAh g−1 at 0.2 and 10 A g−1. Specifically, the assembled LC-750//Zn capacitor can offer a maximal energy density of 119.5 Wh kg−1, a power density of 20.3 kW kg−1, and a capacity retention of 87.8% after 15,000 cycles at 10 A g−1. Density functional theory simulations demonstrate that N and S dual-doping can promote the adsorption kinetics of Zn ions. This design strategy is a feasible and cost-effective method for the preparation of dual heteroatom-doped graphitic carbon electrodes, which enables recycling of WS and CTP into high-valued products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: 2A Peptide sequences are now being widely used to construct multicistronic expression vectors. It is suggested that when only the first 2A-linked protein bears a signal sequence, the signal-less protein(s) downstream of 2A can also be translocated into the mammalian endoplasmic reticulum system through a “slipstreaming” mechanism. By using flow cytometry and cell surface CD90 as a localization indicator, we show here that slipstreaming translocation does not occur in mammalian cells; that is, the second protein downstream of 2A still requires signal sequence for secretary or membrane-anchored expression. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]